1. Field of the Invention
The subject technology is directed to instruments for inserting spinal implants, and more particularly, to an insertion instrument that is easily assembled and disassembled for required cleaning while being able to effectively deploy an interspinous process implant for spinal stabilization, for percutaneous placement in a target interspinous process space, wherein the implant can also serve as a fusion cage spacer to treat lumbar spinal stenosis.
2. Description of Related Art
The spine consists of a column of twenty-four vertebrae that extend from the skull to the hips. Discs of soft tissue are disposed between adjacent vertebrae. The vertebrae provide support for the head and body, while the discs act as cushions. In addition, the spine encloses and protects the spinal cord, defining a bony channel around the spinal cord, called the spinal canal. There is normally a space between the spinal cord and the borders of the spinal canal so that the spinal cord and the nerves associated therewith are not pinched.
Over time, the ligaments and bone that surround the spinal canal can thicken and harden, resulting in a narrowing of the spinal canal and compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots. This condition is called spinal stenosis, which results in pain and numbness in the back and legs, weakness and/or a loss of balance. These symptoms often increase after walking or standing for a period of time.
There are a number of non-surgical treatments for spinal stenosis. These include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the swelling and pain, and corticosteroid injections to reduce swelling and treat acute pain. While some patients may experience relief from symptoms of spinal stenosis with such treatments, many do not, and thus turn to surgical treatment. Some surgical procedures for treating spinal stenosis are decompressive laminectomy and interspinous process decompression (IPD). A well-known implant used for performing IPD surgery is the X-STOP® device, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,676, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Another interspinous process implant placed in a minimally invasive surgical procedure is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2008/0243250, which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Still another interspinous process implant placed in a minimally invasive surgical procedure is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0234889, which is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. One aspect of effective insertion of these implants is to provide a low profile instrument for deploying the implant. Often, the insertion instrument has several moving parts. Because of the cost of the insertion instruments, the instruments are re-used many times. For such insertion instruments to be re-used, the insertion instruments must be properly and fully cleaned without damage or loss of the components.